Lea Nepomuceno, 17, was a powerful voice for students during her one-year term on the San Diego Unified School District Board of Trustees.
It ended in June following her graduation from Scripps Ranch High School and she is now a freshman at George Washington University.
But her passion for social justice is alive and well on both U.S. coasts. Before graduation, she was a co-founder of Youth for Justice Reform here in San Diego County.
That is when she became aware of the reality of incarcerated life interviewing people who had been released from prison and willing to share their stories.
Many of them talked about having to exchange food for items needed to create shampoo, makeup, and soap. The more interviews she conducted, the more evident it became that action was needed.
“It felt inhumane and that is the main goal of Beauty Beyond Bars. We want to humanize the living conditions of incarcerated people, starting with reframing the way that we look at beauty and hygiene," Nepomuceno said.
With the help of experts and like-minded students, she has created the Beauty Beyond Bars project.
"Beauty is not a matter of vanity: it is a matter of survival. And, for the over one million incarcerated people in America, it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive."Lea Nepomuceno, executive director of Beauty Beyond Bars
The project is just getting started meeting incarcerated people where they’re at — detention centers, jails, and prisons — to deliver essential beauty and hygiene products. These are items that incarcerated people would not receive unless they purchase them via a commissary, a store only a few inmates can afford.
Last weekend, Nepomuceno traveled from her Washington, D.C. campus back to San Diego County for the first donation drop at Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee. With the help of her mother, she was able to put together 50 care packages.
“In the bags, we have lotions as well as lip moisturizers. We also have a makeup towelette," she said. "It's a first step in rebuilding their dignity and self-esteem."
The new project’s mission is more than skin deep. Supporters will also push for changes in national legislation requiring the unshackling of incarcerated pregnant women while giving birth. They will also push for changes that allow special consideration for wearing religious headwear like a hijab.
“There is even beauty in the people who are often shamed and given the label of criminal. We can't forget there is beauty in them, too," Nepomuceno said.
